System and method for aggregating web clipping data

ABSTRACT

In an example, a processing system of a database system may be configured to, responsive to receiving a request originating from a member of a web clipping service, insert first data associated with a clip selection of the request into a personalized online space corresponding to the member and retain second data that is different than the first data into an aggregated pool of data associated with a plurality of members of the web clipping service. The processing device may be configured to pair an advertisement of a plurality of advertisements with a resource of a plurality of resources responsive to an analysis of the aggregated pool of data, and store an association between the advertisement of the pair and the resource of the pair in a memory device.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a continuation and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/557,853 filed Dec. 2, 2014, which claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/922,994 entitledAGGREGATING WEB CLIPPING DATA, by Gary Flake, filed Jan. 2, 2014, eachof which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

One or more implementations relate generally to aggregating web clippingdata in a database network system environment.

BACKGROUND

The subject matter discussed in the background section should not beassumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in thebackground section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the backgroundsection or associated with the subject matter of the background sectionshould not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the priorart. The subject matter in the background section merely representsdifferent approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.

Models of user engagement may be utilized for advertising. Known modelsof user engagement are based on information signals such as web pageimpressions and click through rates. Alternative information signalsbesides web page impressions and click through rates may improve theaccuracy of models.

One known alternative information signal collection system may includeeye tracking equipment. The eye tracking equipment may be used todetermine a user's level of interest in resources and/or advertisementsof a web page. However, these information signal collection systemsrequire specialized components at each user system. The operation of thespecialized components may result in overhead of processing resources ofthe user system and/or network traffic as eye tracking captureinformation is uploaded from the user systems. Also, the specializedcomponents may be designed for use with desktop computers, and as suchmay not be possible or practical for use with other devices such asmobile device with smaller screens, less processing resources, and/ordifferent network connections.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following drawings like reference numbers are used to refer tolike elements. Although the following figures depict various examples,the one or more implementations are not limited to the examples depictedin the figures.

The included drawings are for illustrative purposes and serve to provideexamples of possible structures and operations for the disclosedinventive systems, apparatus, methods and computer-readable storagemedia. These drawings in no way limit any changes in form and detailthat may be made by one skilled in the art without departing from thespirit and scope of the disclosed implementations.

FIG. 1A shows a block diagram of an example environment in which anon-demand database service can be used according to someimplementations.

FIG. 1B shows a block diagram of example implementations of elements ofFIG. 1A and example interconnections between these elements according tosome implementations.

FIG. 2A shows a system diagram of example architectural components of anon-demand database service environment according to someimplementations.

FIG. 2B shows a system diagram further illustrating examplearchitectural components of an on-demand database service environmentaccording to some implementations

FIG. 3 shows an example of a group feed on a group profile pageaccording to some implementations.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a record feed on a record profile pageaccording to some implementations.

FIG. 5 is an operational flow diagram illustrating a high level overviewof a technique for aggregating web clipping data in an embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an operational flow diagram illustrating a high level overviewof a technique for analyzing aggregated web clipping data in anembodiment.

FIG. 7 is an operational flow diagram illustrating a high level overviewof a technique for aggregating web clipping data in an embodiment inanother embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Examples of systems, apparatus, computer-readable storage media, andmethods according to the disclosed implementations are described in thissection. These examples are being provided solely to add context and aidin the understanding of the disclosed implementations. It will thus beapparent to one skilled in the art that the disclosed implementationsmay be practiced without some or all of the specific details provided.In other instances, certain process or method operations, also referredto herein as “blocks,” have not been described in detail in order toavoid unnecessarily obscuring the disclosed implementations. Otherimplementations and applications also are possible, and as such, thefollowing examples should not be taken as definitive or limiting eitherin scope or setting.

In the following detailed description, references are made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part of the description and in whichare shown, by way of illustration, specific implementations. Althoughthese disclosed implementations are described in sufficient detail toenable one skilled in the art to practice the implementations, it is tobe understood that these examples are not limiting, such that otherimplementations may be used and changes may be made to the disclosedimplementations without departing from their spirit and scope. Forexample, the blocks of the methods shown and described herein are notnecessarily performed in the order indicated in some otherimplementations. Additionally, in some other implementations, thedisclosed methods may include more or fewer blocks than are described.As another example, some blocks described herein as separate blocks maybe combined in some other implementations. Conversely, what may bedescribed herein as a single block may be implemented in multiple blocksin some other implementations. Additionally, the conjunction “or” isintended herein in the inclusive sense where appropriate unlessotherwise indicated; that is, the phrase “A, B or C” is intended toinclude the possibilities of “A,” “B,” “C,” “A and B,” “B and C,” “A andC” and “A, B and C.”

Some implementations described and referenced herein are directed tosystems, apparatus, computer-implemented methods and computer-readablestorage media for aggregating web clipping data.

Curated content systems, such as web clipping services, have enabledusers to collect and organize interesting content in personalized onlinespaces, e.g. boards. Users can share and browse other boards and havesocial interactions with them, such as sharing, following, andcommenting on boards.

Curated content systems have access to unique metrics based on theirusers' actions on the system that may provide valuable insights toadministrators of the web domains where the curated content originates.In some implementations, a processing system of a database system mayreceive a request originating from a member of a web clipping service.The processing system may be configured to insert first data associatedwith a clip selection of the request into a personalized online spacecorresponding to the member and retain second data that is differentthan the first data into an aggregated pool of data associated with aplurality of members of the web clipping service responsive to receivingthe request. Aggregated over many users, over many web sites, and overlong periods of time, the combined data set from the aggregated pool ofdata can be analyzed to gain insights on user engagement.

Different metrics may be generated and used to identify variouscorrelations between properties of content as well as identify whichclip properties strongly differentiate one clips from other clips. Forexample, a particular clip may include an advertisement in addition topublished content on a domain. The properties of the clip and theclipping user may be parsed for analysis, in the aggregate, by theadministrators of the curated content system.

The processing device may be configured to pair an advertisement of aplurality of advertisements with a resource of a plurality of resourcesresponsive to an analysis of the aggregated pool of data. In anon-demand services environment, an advertiser may identify a metric forselecting an advertisement to be displayed alongside content that may becurated by users of curated content systems. The metric may identifywhich portion of a domain is most clipped, how clipping engagementdiffers between section of a domain, web pages, domains, etc. As aresult, the advertisement may be displayed alongside content based onthe metric of clipping behavior to generate curated content.

In some implementations, the users described herein are users (or“members”) of an interactive online “enterprise social network,” alsoreferred to herein as an “enterprise social networking system,” an“enterprise collaborative network,” or more simply as an “enterprisenetwork.” Such online enterprise networks are increasingly becoming acommon way to facilitate communication among people, any of whom can berecognized as enterprise users. One example of an online enterprisesocial network is Chatter®, provided by salesforce.com, inc. of SanFrancisco, Calif. salesforce.com, inc. is a provider of enterprisesocial networking services, customer relationship management (CRM)services and other database management services, any of which can beaccessed and used in conjunction with the techniques disclosed herein insome implementations. These various services can be provided in a cloudcomputing environment as described herein, for example, in the contextof a multi-tenant database system. Some of the described techniques orprocesses can be implemented without having to install software locally,that is, on computing devices of users interacting with servicesavailable through the cloud. While the disclosed implementations may bedescribed with reference to Chatter® and more generally to enterprisesocial networking, those of ordinary skill in the art should understandthat the disclosed techniques are neither limited to Chatter® nor to anyother services and systems provided by salesforce.com, inc. and can beimplemented in the context of various other database systems such ascloud-based systems that are not part of a multi-tenant database systemor which do not provide enterprise social networking services.

I. Example System Overview

FIG. 1A shows a block diagram of an example of an environment 10 inwhich an on-demand database service can be used in accordance with someimplementations. The environment 10 includes user systems 12, a network14, a database system 16 (also referred to herein as a “cloud-basedsystem”), a processor system 17, an application platform 18, a networkinterface 20, tenant database 22 for storing tenant data 23, systemdatabase 24 for storing system data 25, program code 26 for implementingvarious functions of the system 16, and process space 28 for executingdatabase system processes and tenant-specific processes, such as runningapplications as part of an application hosting service. In some otherimplementations, environment 10 may not have all of these components orsystems, or may have other components or systems instead of, or inaddition to, those listed above.

In some implementations, the environment 10 is an environment in whichan on-demand database service exists. An on-demand database service,such as that which can be implemented using the system 16, is a servicethat is made available to users outside of the enterprise(s) that own,maintain or provide access to the system 16. As described above, suchusers generally do not need to be concerned with building or maintainingthe system 16. Instead, resources provided by the system 16 may beavailable for such users' use when the users need services provided bythe system 16; that is, on the demand of the users. Some on-demanddatabase services can store information from one or more tenants intotables of a common database image to form a multi-tenant database system(MTS). The term “multi-tenant database system” can refer to thosesystems in which various elements of hardware and software of a databasesystem may be shared by one or more customers or tenants. For example, agiven application server may simultaneously process requests for a greatnumber of customers, and a given database table may store rows of datasuch as feed items for a potentially much greater number of customers. Adatabase image can include one or more database objects. A relationaldatabase management system (RDBMS) or the equivalent can execute storageand retrieval of information against the database object(s).

Application platform 18 can be a framework that allows the applicationsof system 16 to execute, such as the hardware or software infrastructureof the system 16. In some implementations, the application platform 18enables the creation, management and execution of one or moreapplications developed by the provider of the on-demand databaseservice, users accessing the on-demand database service via user systems12, or third party application developers accessing the on-demanddatabase service via user systems 12.

In some implementations, the system 16 implements a web-based customerrelationship management (CRM) system. For example, in some suchimplementations, the system 16 includes application servers configuredto implement and execute CRM software applications as well as providerelated data, code, forms, renderable web pages and documents and otherinformation to and from user systems 12 and to store to, and retrievefrom, a database system related data, objects, and Web page content. Insome MTS implementations, data for multiple tenants may be stored in thesame physical database object in tenant database 22. In some suchimplementations, tenant data is arranged in the storage medium(s) oftenant database 22 so that data of one tenant is kept logically separatefrom that of other tenants so that one tenant does not have access toanother tenant's data, unless such data is expressly shared. The system16 also implements applications other than, or in addition to, a CRMapplication. For example, the system 16 can provide tenant access tomultiple hosted (standard and custom) applications, including a CRMapplication. User (or third party developer) applications, which may ormay not include CRM, may be supported by the application platform 18.The application platform 18 manages the creation and storage of theapplications into one or more database objects and the execution of theapplications in one or more virtual machines in the process space of thesystem 16.

According to some implementations, each system 16 is configured toprovide web pages, forms, applications, data and media content to user(client) systems 12 to support the access by user systems 12 as tenantsof system 16. As such, system 16 provides security mechanisms to keepeach tenant's data separate unless the data is shared. If more than oneMTS is used, they may be located in close proximity to one another (forexample, in a server farm located in a single building or campus), orthey may be distributed at locations remote from one another (forexample, one or more servers located in city A and one or more serverslocated in city B). As used herein, each MTS could include one or morelogically or physically connected servers distributed locally or acrossone or more geographic locations. Additionally, the term “server” ismeant to refer to a computing device or system, including processinghardware and process space(s), an associated storage medium such as amemory device or database, and, in some instances, a databaseapplication (for example, OODBMS or RDBMS) as is well known in the art.It should also be understood that “server system” and “server” are oftenused interchangeably herein. Similarly, the database objects describedherein can be implemented as part of a single database, a distributeddatabase, a collection of distributed databases, a database withredundant online or offline backups or other redundancies, etc., and caninclude a distributed database or storage network and associatedprocessing intelligence.

The network 14 can be or include any network or combination of networksof systems or devices that communicate with one another. For example,the network 14 can be or include any one or any combination of a LAN(local area network), WAN (wide area network), telephone network,wireless network, cellular network, point-to-point network, starnetwork, token ring network, hub network, or other appropriateconfiguration. The network 14 can include a TCP/IP (Transfer ControlProtocol and Internet Protocol) network, such as the global internetworkof networks often referred to as the “Internet” (with a capital “I”).The Internet will be used in many of the examples herein. However, itshould be understood that the networks that the disclosedimplementations can use are not so limited, although TCP/IP is afrequently implemented protocol.

The user systems 12 can communicate with system 16 using TCP/IP and, ata higher network level, other common Internet protocols to communicate,such as HTTP, FTP, AFS, WAP, etc. In an example where HTTP is used, eachuser system 12 can include an HTTP client commonly referred to as a “webbrowser” or simply a “browser” for sending and receiving HTTP signals toand from an HTTP server of the system 16. Such an HTTP server can beimplemented as the sole network interface 20 between the system 16 andthe network 14, but other techniques can be used in addition to orinstead of these techniques. In some implementations, the networkinterface 20 between the system 16 and the network 14 includes loadsharing functionality, such as round-robin HTTP request distributors tobalance loads and distribute incoming HTTP requests evenly over a numberof servers. In MTS implementations, each of the servers can have accessto the MTS data; however, other alternative configurations may be usedinstead.

The user systems 12 can be implemented as any computing device(s) orother data processing apparatus or systems usable by users to access thedatabase system 16. For example, any of user systems 12 can be a desktopcomputer, a work station, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, ahandheld computing device, a mobile cellular phone (for example, a“smartphone”), or any other Wi-Fi-enabled device, wireless accessprotocol (WAP)-enabled device, or other computing device capable ofinterfacing directly or indirectly to the Internet or other network. Theterms “user system” and “computing device” are used interchangeablyherein with one another and with the term “computer.” As describedabove, each user system 12 typically executes an HTTP client, forexample, a web browsing (or simply “browsing”) program, such as a webbrowser based on the WebKit platform, Microsoft's Internet Explorerbrowser, Netscape's Navigator browser, Opera's browser, Mozilla'sFirefox browser, or a WAP-enabled browser in the case of a cellularphone, PDA or other wireless device, or the like, allowing a user (forexample, a subscriber of on-demand services provided by the system 16)of the user system 12 to access, process and view information, pages andapplications available to it from the system 16 over the network 14.

Each user system 12 also typically includes one or more user inputdevices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, a touch pad, a touchscreen, a pen or stylus or the like, for interacting with a graphicaluser interface (GUI) provided by the browser on a display (for example,a monitor screen, liquid crystal display (LCD), light-emitting diode(LED) display, among other possibilities) of the user system 12 inconjunction with pages, forms, applications and other informationprovided by the system 16 or other systems or servers. For example, theuser interface device can be used to access data and applications hostedby system 16, and to perform searches on stored data, and otherwiseallow a user to interact with various GUI pages that may be presented toa user. As discussed above, implementations are suitable for use withthe Internet, although other networks can be used instead of or inaddition to the Internet, such as an intranet, an extranet, a virtualprivate network (VPN), a non-TCP/IP based network, any LAN or WAN or thelike.

The users of user systems 12 may differ in their respective capacities,and the capacity of a particular user system 12 can be entirelydetermined by permissions (permission levels) for the current user ofsuch user system. For example, where a salesperson is using a particularuser system 12 to interact with the system 16, that user system can havethe capacities allotted to the salesperson. However, while anadministrator is using that user system 12 to interact with the system16, that user system can have the capacities allotted to thatadministrator. Where a hierarchical role model is used, users at onepermission level can have access to applications, data, and databaseinformation accessible by a lower permission level user, but may nothave access to certain applications, database information, and dataaccessible by a user at a higher permission level. Thus, different usersgenerally will have different capabilities with regard to accessing andmodifying application and database information, depending on the users'respective security or permission levels (also referred to as“authorizations”).

According to some implementations, each user system 12 and some or allof its components are operator-configurable using applications, such asa browser, including computer code executed using a central processingunit (CPU) such as an Intel Pentium® processor or the like. Similarly,the system 16 (and additional instances of an MTS, where more than oneis present) and all of its components can be operator-configurable usingapplication(s) including computer code to run using the processor system17, which may be implemented to include a CPU, which may include anIntel Pentium® processor or the like, or multiple CPUs.

The system 16 includes tangible computer-readable media havingnon-transitory instructions stored thereon/in that are executable by orused to program a server or other computing system (or collection ofsuch servers or computing systems) to perform some of the implementationof processes described herein. For example, computer program code 26 canimplement instructions for operating and configuring the system 16 tointercommunicate and to process web pages, applications and other dataand media content as described herein. In some implementations, thecomputer code 26 can be downloadable and stored on a hard disk, but theentire program code, or portions thereof, also can be stored in anyother volatile or non-volatile memory medium or device as is well known,such as a ROM or RAM, or provided on any media capable of storingprogram code, such as any type of rotating media including floppy disks,optical discs, digital versatile disks (DVD), compact disks (CD),microdrives, and magneto-optical disks, and magnetic or optical cards,nanosystems (including molecular memory ICs), or any other type ofcomputer-readable medium or device suitable for storing instructions ordata. Additionally, the entire program code, or portions thereof, may betransmitted and downloaded from a software source over a transmissionmedium, for example, over the Internet, or from another server, as iswell known, or transmitted over any other existing network connection asis well known (for example, extranet, VPN, LAN, etc.) using anycommunication medium and protocols (for example, TCP/IP, HTTP, HTTPS,Ethernet, etc.) as are well known. It will also be appreciated thatcomputer code for the disclosed implementations can be realized in anyprogramming language that can be executed on a server or other computingsystem such as, for example, C, C++, HTML, any other markup language,Java™, JavaScript, ActiveX, any other scripting language, such asVBScript, and many other programming languages as are well known may beused. (Java™ is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.).

FIG. 1B shows a block diagram of example implementations of elements ofFIG. 1A and example interconnections between these elements according tosome implementations. That is, FIG. 1B also illustrates environment 10,but FIG. 1B, various elements of the system 16 and variousinterconnections between such elements are shown with more specificityaccording to some more specific implementations. Additionally, in FIG.1B, the user system 12 includes a processor system 12A, a memory system12B, an input system 12C, and an output system 12D. The processor system12A can include any suitable combination of one or more processors. Thememory system 12B can include any suitable combination of one or morememory devices. The input system 12C can include any suitablecombination of input devices, such as one or more touchscreeninterfaces, keyboards, mice, trackballs, scanners, cameras, orinterfaces to networks. The output system 12D can include any suitablecombination of output devices, such as one or more display devices,printers, or interfaces to networks.

In FIG. 1B, the network interface 20 is implemented as a set of HTTPapplication servers 100 ₁-100 _(N). Each application server 100, alsoreferred to herein as an “app server”, is configured to communicate withtenant database 22 and the tenant data 23 therein, as well as systemdatabase 24 and the system data 25 therein, to serve requests receivedfrom the user systems 12. The tenant data 23 can be divided intoindividual tenant storage spaces 112, which can be physically orlogically arranged or divided. Within each tenant storage space 112,user storage 114 and application metadata 116 can similarly be allocatedfor each user. For example, a copy of a user's most recently used (MRU)items can be stored to user storage 114. Similarly, a copy of MRU itemsfor an entire organization that is a tenant can be stored to tenantstorage space 112.

The process space 28 includes system process space 102, individualtenant process spaces 104 and a tenant management process space 110. Theapplication platform 18 includes an application setup mechanism 38 thatsupports application developers' creation and management ofapplications. Such applications and others can be saved as metadata intotenant database 22 by save routines 36 for execution by subscribers asone or more tenant process spaces 104 managed by tenant managementprocess 110, for example. Invocations to such applications can be codedusing PL/SOQL 34, which provides a programming language style interfaceextension to API 32. A detailed description of some PL/SOQL languageimplementations is discussed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No.7,730,478, titled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ALLOWING ACCESS TO DEVELOPEDAPPLICATIONS VIA A MULTI-TENANT ON-DEMAND DATABASE SERVICE, by CraigWeissman, issued on Jun. 1, 2010, and hereby incorporated by referencein its entirety and for all purposes. Invocations to applications can bedetected by one or more system processes, which manage retrievingapplication metadata 116 for the subscriber making the invocation andexecuting the metadata as an application in a virtual machine.

The system 16 of FIG. 1B also includes a user interface (UI) 30 and anapplication programming interface (API) 32 to system 16 residentprocesses to users or developers at user systems 12. In some otherimplementations, the environment 10 may not have the same elements asthose listed above or may have other elements instead of, or in additionto, those listed above.

Each application server 100 can be communicably coupled with tenantdatabase 22 and system database 24, for example, having access to tenantdata 23 and system data 25, respectively, via a different networkconnection. For example, one application server 100 ₁ can be coupled viathe network 14 (for example, the Internet), another application server100 _(N-1) can be coupled via a direct network link, and anotherapplication server 100 _(N) can be coupled by yet a different networkconnection. Transfer Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) areexamples of typical protocols that can be used for communicating betweenapplication servers 100 and the system 16. However, it will be apparentto one skilled in the art that other transport protocols can be used tooptimize the system 16 depending on the network interconnections used.

In some implementations, each application server 100 is configured tohandle requests for any user associated with any organization that is atenant of the system 16. Because it can be desirable to be able to addand remove application servers 100 from the server pool at any time andfor various reasons, in some implementations there is no server affinityfor a user or organization to a specific application server 100. In somesuch implementations, an interface system implementing a load balancingfunction (for example, an F5 Big-IP load balancer) is communicablycoupled between the application servers 100 and the user systems 12 todistribute requests to the application servers 100. In oneimplementation, the load balancer uses a least-connections algorithm toroute user requests to the application servers 100. Other examples ofload balancing algorithms, such as round robin andobserved-response-time, also can be used. For example, in someinstances, three consecutive requests from the same user could hit threedifferent application servers 100, and three requests from differentusers could hit the same application server 100. In this manner, by wayof example, system 16 can be a multi-tenant system in which system 16handles storage of, and access to, different objects, data andapplications across disparate users and organizations.

In one example storage use case, one tenant can be a company thatemploys a sales force where each salesperson uses system 16 to manageaspects of their sales. A user can maintain contact data, leads data,customer follow-up data, performance data, goals and progress data,etc., all applicable to that user's personal sales process (for example,in tenant database 22). In an example of a MTS arrangement, because allof the data and the applications to access, view, modify, report,transmit, calculate, etc., can be maintained and accessed by a usersystem 12 having little more than network access, the user can managehis or her sales efforts and cycles from any of many different usersystems. For example, when a salesperson is visiting a customer and thecustomer has Internet access in their lobby, the salesperson can obtaincritical updates regarding that customer while waiting for the customerto arrive in the lobby.

While each user's data can be stored separately from other users' dataregardless of the employers of each user, some data can beorganization-wide data shared or accessible by several users or all ofthe users for a given organization that is a tenant. Thus, there can besome data structures managed by system 16 that are allocated at thetenant level while other data structures can be managed at the userlevel. Because an MTS can support multiple tenants including possiblecompetitors, the MTS can have security protocols that keep data,applications, and application use separate. Also, because many tenantsmay opt for access to an MTS rather than maintain their own system,redundancy, up-time, and backup are additional functions that can beimplemented in the MTS. In addition to user-specific data andtenant-specific data, the system 16 also can maintain system level datausable by multiple tenants or other data. Such system level data caninclude industry reports, news, postings, and the like that are sharableamong tenants.

In some implementations, the user systems 12 (which also can be clientsystems) communicate with the application servers 100 to request andupdate system-level and tenant-level data from the system 16. Suchrequests and updates can involve sending one or more queries to tenantdatabase 22 or system database 24. The system 16 (for example, anapplication server 100 in the system 16) can automatically generate oneor more SQL statements (for example, one or more SQL queries) designedto access the desired information. System database 24 can generate queryplans to access the requested data from the database. The term “queryplan” generally refers to one or more operations used to accessinformation in a database system.

Each database can generally be viewed as a collection of objects, suchas a set of logical tables, containing data fitted into predefined orcustomizable categories. A “table” is one representation of a dataobject, and may be used herein to simplify the conceptual description ofobjects and custom objects according to some implementations. It shouldbe understood that “table” and “object” may be used interchangeablyherein. Each table generally contains one or more data categorieslogically arranged as columns or fields in a viewable schema. Each rowor element of a table can contain an instance of data for each categorydefined by the fields. For example, a CRM database can include a tablethat describes a customer with fields for basic contact information suchas name, address, phone number, fax number, etc. Another table candescribe a purchase order, including fields for information such ascustomer, product, sale price, date, etc. In some MTS implementations,standard entity tables can be provided for use by all tenants. For CRMdatabase applications, such standard entities can include tables forcase, account, contact, lead, and opportunity data objects, eachcontaining pre-defined fields. As used herein, the term “entity” alsomay be used interchangeably with “object” and “table.”

In some MTS implementations, tenants are allowed to create and storecustom objects, or may be allowed to customize standard entities orobjects, for example by creating custom fields for standard objects,including custom index fields. Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No.7,779,039, titled CUSTOM ENTITIES AND FIELDS IN A MULTI-TENANT DATABASESYSTEM, by Weissman et al., issued on Aug. 17, 2010, and herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety and for all purposes, teachessystems and methods for creating custom objects as well as customizingstandard objects in a multi-tenant database system. In someimplementations, for example, all custom entity data rows are stored ina single multi-tenant physical table, which may contain multiple logicaltables per organization. It is transparent to customers that theirmultiple “tables” are in fact stored in one large table or that theirdata may be stored in the same table as the data of other customers.

FIG. 2A shows a system diagram illustrating example architecturalcomponents of an on-demand database service environment 200 according tosome implementations. A client machine communicably connected with thecloud 204, generally referring to one or more networks in combination,as described herein, can communicate with the on-demand database serviceenvironment 200 via one or more edge routers 208 and 212. A clientmachine can be any of the examples of user systems 12 described above.The edge routers can communicate with one or more core switches 220 and224 through a firewall 216. The core switches can communicate with aload balancer 228, which can distribute server load over different pods,such as the pods 240 and 244. The pods 240 and 244, which can eachinclude one or more servers or other computing resources, can performdata processing and other operations used to provide on-demand services.Communication with the pods can be conducted via pod switches 232 and236. Components of the on-demand database service environment cancommunicate with database storage 256 through a database firewall 248and a database switch 252.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, accessing an on-demand database serviceenvironment can involve communications transmitted among a variety ofdifferent hardware or software components. Further, the on-demanddatabase service environment 200 is a simplified representation of anactual on-demand database service environment. For example, while onlyone or two devices of each type are shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, someimplementations of an on-demand database service environment can includeanywhere from one to several devices of each type. Also, the on-demanddatabase service environment need not include each device shown in FIGS.2A and 2B, or can include additional devices not shown in FIGS. 2A and2B.

Additionally, it should be appreciated that one or more of the devicesin the on-demand database service environment 200 can be implemented onthe same physical device or on different hardware. Some devices can beimplemented using hardware or a combination of hardware and software.Thus, terms such as “data processing apparatus,” “machine,” “server” and“device” as used herein are not limited to a single hardware device,rather references to these terms can include any suitable combination ofhardware and software configured to provide the described functionality.

The cloud 204 is intended to refer to a data network or multiple datanetworks, often including the Internet. Client machines communicablyconnected with the cloud 204 can communicate with other components ofthe on-demand database service environment 200 to access servicesprovided by the on-demand database service environment. For example,client machines can access the on-demand database service environment toretrieve, store, edit, or process information. In some implementations,the edge routers 208 and 212 route packets between the cloud 204 andother components of the on-demand database service environment 200. Forexample, the edge routers 208 and 212 can employ the Border GatewayProtocol (BGP). The BGP is the core routing protocol of the Internet.The edge routers 208 and 212 can maintain a table of IP networks or‘prefixes’, which designate network reachability among autonomoussystems on the Internet.

In some implementations, the firewall 216 can protect the innercomponents of the on-demand database service environment 200 fromInternet traffic. The firewall 216 can block, permit, or deny access tothe inner components of the on-demand database service environment 200based upon a set of rules and other criteria. The firewall 216 can actas one or more of a packet filter, an application gateway, a statefulfilter, a proxy server, or any other type of firewall.

In some implementations, the core switches 220 and 224 are high-capacityswitches that transfer packets within the on-demand database serviceenvironment 200. The core switches 220 and 224 can be configured asnetwork bridges that quickly route data between different componentswithin the on-demand database service environment. In someimplementations, the use of two or more core switches 220 and 224 canprovide redundancy or reduced latency.

In some implementations, the pods 240 and 244 perform the core dataprocessing and service functions provided by the on-demand databaseservice environment. Each pod can include various types of hardware orsoftware computing resources. An example of the pod architecture isdiscussed in greater detail with reference to FIG. 2B. In someimplementations, communication between the pods 240 and 244 is conductedvia the pod switches 232 and 236. The pod switches 232 and 236 canfacilitate communication between the pods 240 and 244 and clientmachines communicably connected with the cloud 204, for example via coreswitches 220 and 224. Also, the pod switches 232 and 236 may facilitatecommunication between the pods 240 and 244 and the database storage 256.In some implementations, the load balancer 228 can distribute workloadbetween the pods 240 and 244. Balancing the on-demand service requestsbetween the pods can assist in improving the use of resources,increasing throughput, reducing response times, or reducing overhead.The load balancer 228 may include multilayer switches to analyze andforward traffic.

In some implementations, access to the database storage 256 is guardedby a database firewall 248. The database firewall 248 can act as acomputer application firewall operating at the database applicationlayer of a protocol stack. The database firewall 248 can protect thedatabase storage 256 from application attacks such as structure querylanguage (SQL) injection, database rootkits, and unauthorizedinformation disclosure. In some implementations, the database firewall248 includes a host using one or more forms of reverse proxy services toproxy traffic before passing it to a gateway router. The databasefirewall 248 can inspect the contents of database traffic and blockcertain content or database requests. The database firewall 248 can workon the SQL application level atop the TCP/IP stack, managingapplications' connection to the database or SQL management interfaces aswell as intercepting and enforcing packets traveling to or from adatabase network or application interface.

In some implementations, communication with the database storage 256 isconducted via the database switch 252. The multi-tenant database storage256 can include more than one hardware or software components forhandling database queries. Accordingly, the database switch 252 candirect database queries transmitted by other components of the on-demanddatabase service environment (for example, the pods 240 and 244) to thecorrect components within the database storage 256. In someimplementations, the database storage 256 is an on-demand databasesystem shared by many different organizations as described above withreference to FIGS. 1A and 1B.

FIG. 2B shows a system diagram further illustrating examplearchitectural components of an on-demand database service environmentaccording to some implementations. The pod 244 can be used to renderservices to a user of the on-demand database service environment 200. Insome implementations, each pod includes a variety of servers or othersystems. The pod 244 includes one or more content batch servers 264,content search servers 268, query servers 282, file force servers 286,access control system (ACS) servers 280, batch servers 284, and appservers 288. The pod 244 also can include database instances 290, quickfile systems (QFS) 292, and indexers 294. In some implementations, someor all communication between the servers in the pod 244 can betransmitted via the switch 236.

In some implementations, the app servers 288 include a hardware orsoftware framework dedicated to the execution of procedures (forexample, programs, routines, scripts) for supporting the construction ofapplications provided by the on-demand database service environment 200via the pod 244. In some implementations, the hardware or softwareframework of an app server 288 is configured to execute operations ofthe services described herein, including performance of the blocks ofvarious methods or processes described herein. In some alternativeimplementations, two or more app servers 288 can be included andcooperate to perform such methods, or one or more other serversdescribed herein can be configured to perform the disclosed methods.

The content batch servers 264 can handle requests internal to the pod.Some such requests can be long-running or not tied to a particularcustomer. For example, the content batch servers 264 can handle requestsrelated to log mining, cleanup work, and maintenance tasks. The contentsearch servers 268 can provide query and indexer functions. For example,the functions provided by the content search servers 268 can allow usersto search through content stored in the on-demand database serviceenvironment. The file force servers 286 can manage requests forinformation stored in the Fileforce storage 298. The Fileforce storage298 can store information such as documents, images, and basic largeobjects (BLOBs). By managing requests for information using the fileforce servers 286, the image footprint on the database can be reduced.The query servers 282 can be used to retrieve information from one ormore file systems. For example, the query system 282 can receiverequests for information from the app servers 288 and transmitinformation queries to the NFS 296 located outside the pod.

The pod 244 can share a database instance 290 configured as amulti-tenant environment in which different organizations share accessto the same database. Additionally, services rendered by the pod 244 maycall upon various hardware or software resources. In someimplementations, the ACS servers 280 control access to data, hardwareresources, or software resources. In some implementations, the batchservers 284 process batch jobs, which are used to run tasks at specifiedtimes. For example, the batch servers 284 can transmit instructions toother servers, such as the app servers 288, to trigger the batch jobs.

In some implementations, the QFS 292 is an open source file systemavailable from Sun Microsystems® of Santa Clara, Calif. The QFS canserve as a rapid-access file system for storing and accessinginformation available within the pod 244. The QFS 292 can support somevolume management capabilities, allowing many disks to be groupedtogether into a file system. File system metadata can be kept on aseparate set of disks, which can be useful for streaming applicationswhere long disk seeks cannot be tolerated. Thus, the QFS system cancommunicate with one or more content search servers 268 or indexers 294to identify, retrieve, move, or update data stored in the network filesystems 296 or other storage systems.

In some implementations, one or more query servers 282 communicate withthe NFS 296 to retrieve or update information stored outside of the pod244. The NFS 296 can allow servers located in the pod 244 to accessinformation to access files over a network in a manner similar to howlocal storage is accessed. In some implementations, queries from thequery servers 282 are transmitted to the NFS 296 via the load balancer228, which can distribute resource requests over various resourcesavailable in the on-demand database service environment. The NFS 296also can communicate with the QFS 292 to update the information storedon the NFS 296 or to provide information to the QFS 292 for use byservers located within the pod 244.

In some implementations, the pod includes one or more database instances290. The database instance 290 can transmit information to the QFS 292.When information is transmitted to the QFS, it can be available for useby servers within the pod 244 without using an additional database call.In some implementations, database information is transmitted to theindexer 294. Indexer 294 can provide an index of information availablein the database 290 or QFS 292. The index information can be provided tofile force servers 286 or the QFS 292.

II. Enterprise Social Networking

As initially described above, in some implementations, some of themethods, processes, devices and systems described herein can implement,or be used in the context of, enterprise social networking. Some onlineenterprise social networks can be implemented in various settings,including businesses, organizations and other enterprises (all of whichare used interchangeably herein). For instance, an online enterprisesocial network can be implemented to connect users within a businesscorporation, partnership or organization, or a group of users withinsuch an enterprise. For instance, Chatter® can be used by users who areemployees in a business organization to share data, communicate, andcollaborate with each other for various enterprise-related purposes.Some of the disclosed methods, processes, devices, systems andcomputer-readable storage media described herein can be configured ordesigned for use in a multi-tenant database environment, such asdescribed above with respect to system 16. In an example implementation,each organization or a group within the organization can be a respectivetenant of the system.

In some implementations, each user of the database system 16 isassociated with a “user profile.” A user profile refers generally to acollection of data about a given user. The data can include generalinformation, such as a name, a title, a phone number, a photo, abiographical summary, or a status (for example, text describing what theuser is currently doing, thinking or expressing). As described below,the data can include messages created by other users. In implementationsin which there are multiple tenants, a user is typically associated witha particular tenant (or “organization”). For example, a user could be asalesperson of an organization that is a tenant of the database system16.

A “group” generally refers to a collection of users within anorganization. In some implementations, a group can be defined as userswith the same or a similar attribute, or by membership or subscription.Groups can have various visibilities to users within an enterprisesocial network. For example, some groups can be private while others canbe public. In some implementations, to become a member within a privategroup, and to have the capability to publish and view feed items on thegroup's group feed, a user must request to be subscribed to the group(and be accepted by, for example, an administrator or owner of thegroup), be invited to subscribe to the group (and accept), or bedirectly subscribed to the group (for example, by an administrator orowner of the group). In some implementations, any user within theenterprise social network can subscribe to or follow a public group (andthus become a “member” of the public group) within the enterprise socialnetwork.

A “record” generally refers to a data entity, such as an instance of adata object created by a user or group of users of the database system16. Such records can include, for example, data objects representing andmaintaining data for accounts, cases, opportunities, leads, files,documents, orders, pricebooks, products, solutions, reports andforecasts, among other possibilities. For example, a record can be for abusiness partner or potential business partner (for example, a client,vendor, distributor, etc.) of a user or a user's organization, and caninclude information describing an entire enterprise, subsidiaries of anenterprise, or contacts at the enterprise. As another example, a recordcan be a project that a user or group of users is/are working on, suchas an opportunity (for example, a possible sale) with an existingpartner, or a project that the user is trying to obtain. A record hasdata fields that are defined by the structure of the object (forexample, fields of certain data types and purposes). A record also canhave custom fields defined by a user or organization. A field caninclude (or include a link to) another record, thereby providing aparent-child relationship between the records.

Records also can have various visibilities to users within an enterprisesocial network. For example, some records can be private while otherscan be public. In some implementations, to access a private record, andto have the capability to publish and view feed items on the record'srecord feed, a user must request to be subscribed to the record (and beaccepted by, for example, an administrator or owner of the record), beinvited to subscribe to the record (and accept), be directly subscribedto the record or be shared the record (for example, by an administratoror owner of the record). In some implementations, any user within theenterprise social network can subscribe to or follow a public recordwithin the enterprise social network.

In some online enterprise social networks, users also can follow oneanother by establishing “links” or “connections” with each other,sometimes referred to as “friending” one another. By establishing such alink, one user can see information generated by, generated about, orotherwise associated with another user. For instance, a first user cansee information posted by a second user to the second user's profilepage. In one example, when the first user is following the second user,the first user's news feed can receive a post from the second usersubmitted to the second user's profile feed.

In some implementations, users can access one or more enterprise networkfeeds (also referred to herein simply as “feeds”), which includepublications presented as feed items or entries in the feed. A networkfeed can be displayed in a graphical user interface (GUI) on a displaydevice such as the display of a user's computing device as describedabove. The publications can include various enterprise social networkinformation or data from various sources and can be stored in thedatabase system 16, for example, in tenant database 22. In someimplementations, feed items of information for or about a user can bepresented in a respective user feed, feed items of information for orabout a group can be presented in a respective group feed, and feeditems of information for or about a record can be presented in arespective record feed. A second user following a first user, a firstgroup, or a first record can automatically receive the feed itemsassociated with the first user, the first group or the first record fordisplay in the second user's news feed. In some implementations, a userfeed also can display feed items from the group feeds of the groups therespective user subscribes to, as well as feed items from the recordfeeds of the records the respective user subscribes to.

The term “feed item” (or feed element) refers to an item of information,which can be viewable in a feed. Feed items can include publicationssuch as messages (for example, user-generated textual posts orcomments), files (for example, documents, audio data, image data, videodata or other data), and “feed-tracked” updates associated with a user,a group or a record (feed-tracked updates are described in greaterdetail below). A feed item, and a feed in general, can includecombinations of messages, files and feed-tracked updates. Documents andother files can be included in, linked with, or attached to a post orcomment. For example, a post can include textual statements incombination with a document. The feed items can be organized inchronological order or another suitable or desirable order (which can becustomizable by a user) when the associated feed is displayed in agraphical user interface (GUI), for instance, on the user's computingdevice.

Messages such as posts can include alpha-numeric or othercharacter-based user inputs such as words, phrases, statements,questions, emotional expressions, or symbols. In some implementations, acomment can be made on any feed item. In some implementations, commentsare organized as a list explicitly tied to a particular feed item suchas a feed-tracked update, post, or status update. In someimplementations, comments may not be listed in the first layer (in ahierarchal sense) of feed items, but listed as a second layer branchingfrom a particular first layer feed item. In some implementations, a“like” or “dislike” also can be submitted in response to a particularpost, comment or other publication.

A “feed-tracked update,” also referred to herein as a “feed update,” isanother type of publication that may be presented as a feed item andgenerally refers to data representing an event. A feed-tracked updatecan include text generated by the database system in response to theevent, to be provided as one or more feed items for possible inclusionin one or more feeds. In one implementation, the data can initially bestored by the database system in, for example, tenant database 22, andsubsequently used by the database system to create text for describingthe event. Both the data and the text can be a feed-tracked update, asused herein. In some implementations, an event can be an update of arecord and can be triggered by a specific action by a user. Whichactions trigger an event can be configurable. Which events havefeed-tracked updates created and which feed updates are sent to whichusers also can be configurable. Messages and feed updates can be storedas a field or child object of a record. For example, the feed can bestored as a child object of the record.

As described above, a network feed can be specific to an individual userof an online social network. For instance, a user news feed (or “userfeed”) generally refers to an aggregation of feed items generated for aparticular user, and in some implementations, is viewable only to therespective user on a home page of the user. In some implementations auser profile feed (also referred to as a “user feed”) is another type ofuser feed that refers to an aggregation of feed items generated by orfor a particular user, and in some implementations, is viewable only bythe respective user and other users following the user on a profile pageof the user. As a more specific example, the feed items in a userprofile feed can include posts and comments that other users make aboutor send to the particular user, and status updates made by theparticular user. As another example, the feed items in a user profilefeed can include posts made by the particular user and feed-trackedupdates initiated based on actions of the particular user.

As is also described above, a network feed can be specific to a group ofenterprise users of an online enterprise social network. For instance, agroup news feed (or “group feed”) generally refers to an aggregation offeed items generated for or about a particular group of users of thedatabase system 16 and can be viewable by users following or subscribedto the group on a profile page of the group. For example, such feeditems can include posts made by members of the group or feed-trackedupdates about changes to the respective group (or changes to documentsor other files shared with the group). Members of the group can view andpost to a group feed in accordance with a permissions configuration forthe feed and the group. Publications in a group context can includedocuments, posts, or comments. In some implementations, the group feedalso includes publications and other feed items that are about the groupas a whole, the group's purpose, the group's description, a status ofthe group, and group records and other objects stored in associationwith the group. Threads of publications including updates and messages,such as posts, comments, likes, etc., can define conversations andchange over time. The following of a group allows a user to collaboratewith other users in the group, for example, on a record or on documentsor other files (which may be associated with a record).

As is also described above, a network feed can be specific to a recordin an online enterprise social network. For instance, a record news feed(or “record feed”) generally refers to an aggregation of feed itemsabout a particular record in the database system 16 and can be viewableby users subscribed to the record on a profile page of the record. Forexample, such feed items can include posts made by users about therecord or feed-tracked updates about changes to the respective record(or changes to documents or other files associated with the record).Subscribers to the record can view and post to a record feed inaccordance with a permissions configuration for the feed and the record.Publications in a record context also can include documents, posts, orcomments. In some implementations, the record feed also includespublications and other feed items that are about the record as a whole,the record's purpose, the record's description, and other records orother objects stored in association with the record. Threads ofpublications including updates and messages, such as posts, comments,likes, etc., can define conversations and change over time. Thefollowing of a record allows a user to track the progress of that recordand collaborate with other users subscribing to the record, for example,on the record or on documents or other files associated with the record.

In some implementations, data is stored in database system 16, includingtenant database 22, in the form of “entity objects” (also referred toherein simply as “entities”). In some implementations, entities arecategorized into “Records objects” and “Collaboration objects.” In somesuch implementations, the Records object includes all records in theenterprise social network. Each record can be considered a sub-object ofthe overarching Records object. In some implementations, Collaborationobjects include, for example, a “Users object,” a “Groups object,” a“Group-User relationship object,” a “Record-User relationship object”and a “Feed Items object.”

In some implementations, the Users object is a data structure that canbe represented or conceptualized as a “Users Table” that associatesusers to information about or pertaining to the respective usersincluding, for example, metadata about the users. In someimplementations, the Users Table includes all of the users within anorganization. In some other implementations, there can be a Users Tablefor each division, department, team or other sub-organization within anorganization. In implementations in which the organization is a tenantof a multi-tenant enterprise social network platform, the Users Tablecan include all of the users within all of the organizations that aretenants of the multi-tenant enterprise social network platform. In someimplementations, each user can be identified by a user identifier(“UserID”) that is unique at least within the user's respectiveorganization. In some such implementations, each organization also has aunique organization identifier (“OrgID”).

In some implementations, the Groups object is a data structure that canbe represented or conceptualized as a “Groups Table” that associatesgroups to information about or pertaining to the respective groupsincluding, for example, metadata about the groups. In someimplementations, the Groups Table includes all of the groups within theorganization. In some other implementations, there can be a Groups Tablefor each division, department, team or other sub-organization within anorganization. In implementations in which the organization is a tenantof a multi-tenant enterprise social network platform, the Groups Tablecan include all of the groups within all of the organizations that aretenants of the multitenant enterprise social network platform. In someimplementations, each group can be identified by a group identifier(“GroupID”) that is unique at least within the respective organization.

In some implementations, the database system 16 includes a “Group-Userrelationship object.” The Group-User relationship object is a datastructure that can be represented or conceptualized as a “Group-UserTable” that associates groups to users subscribed to the respectivegroups. In some implementations, the Group-User Table includes all ofthe groups within the organization. In some other implementations, therecan be a Group-User Table for each division, department, team or othersub-organization within an organization. In implementations in which theorganization is a tenant of a multi-tenant enterprise social networkplatform, the Group-User Table can include all of the groups within allof the organizations that are tenants of the multitenant enterprisesocial network platform.

In some implementations, the Records object is a data structure that canbe represented or conceptualized as a “Records Table” that associatesrecords to information about or pertaining to the respective recordsincluding, for example, metadata about the records. In someimplementations, the Records Table includes all of the records withinthe organization. In some other implementations, there can be a RecordsTable for each division, department, team or other sub-organizationwithin an organization. In implementations in which the organization isa tenant of a multi-tenant enterprise social network platform, theRecords Table can include all of the records within all of theorganizations that are tenants of the multitenant enterprise socialnetwork platform. In some implementations, each record can be identifiedby a record identifier (“RecordID”) that is unique at least within therespective organization.

In some implementations, the database system 16 includes a “Record-Userrelationship object.” The Record-User relationship object is a datastructure that can be represented or conceptualized as a “Record-UserTable” that associates records to users subscribed to the respectiverecords. In some implementations, the Record-User Table includes all ofthe records within the organization. In some other implementations,there can be a Record-User Table for each division, department, team orother sub-organization within an organization. In implementations inwhich the organization is a tenant of a multi-tenant enterprise socialnetwork platform, the Record-User Table can include all of the recordswithin all of the organizations that are tenants of the multitenantenterprise social network platform.

In some implementations, the database system 16 includes a “Feed Itemsobject.” The Feed items object is a data structure that can berepresented or conceptualized as a “Feed Items Table” that associatesusers, records and groups to posts, comments, documents or otherpublications to be displayed as feed items in the respective user feeds,record feeds and group feeds, respectively. In some implementations, theFeed Items Table includes all of the feed items within the organization.In some other implementations, there can be a Feed Items Table for eachdivision, department, team or other sub-organization within anorganization. In implementations in which the organization is a tenantof a multi-tenant enterprise social network platform, the Feed ItemsTable can include all of the feed items within all of the organizationsthat are tenants of the multitenant enterprise social network platform.

Enterprise social network news feeds are different from typicalconsumer-facing social network news feeds (for example, FACEBOOK®) inmany ways, including in the way they prioritize information. Inconsumer-facing social networks, the focus is generally on helping thesocial network users find information that they are personallyinterested in. But in enterprise social networks, it can, in someinstances, applications, or implementations, be desirable from anenterprise's perspective to only distribute relevant enterprise-relatedinformation to users and to limit the distribution of irrelevantinformation. In some implementations, relevant enterprise-relatedinformation refers to information that would be predicted or expected tobenefit the enterprise by virtue of the recipients knowing theinformation, such as an update to a database record maintained by or onbehalf of the enterprise. Thus, the meaning of relevance differssignificantly in the context of a consumer-facing social network ascompared with an employee-facing or organization member-facingenterprise social network.

In some implementations, when data such as posts or comments from one ormore enterprise users are submitted to a network feed for a particularuser, group, record or other object within an online enterprise socialnetwork, an email notification or other type of network communicationmay be transmitted to all users following the respective user, group,record or object in addition to the inclusion of the data as a feed itemin one or more user, group, record or other feeds. In some onlineenterprise social networks, the occurrence of such a notification islimited to the first instance of a published input, which may form partof a larger conversation. For instance, a notification may betransmitted for an initial post, but not for comments on the post. Insome other implementations, a separate notification is transmitted foreach such publication, such as a comment on a post.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a group feed on a group profile pageaccording to some implementations. As shown, a feed item 310 shows thata user has posted a document to the group feed. The text “Bill Bauer hasposted the document Competitive Insights” can be generated by thedatabase system in a similar manner as feed-tracked updates about arecord being changed. A feed item 320 shows a post to the group, alongwith comments 330 from Ella Johnson, James Saxon, Mary Moore and BillBauer.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a record feed on a record profile pageaccording to some implementations. The record feed includes afeed-tracked update, a post, and comments. Feed item 410 shows afeed-tracked update based on the event of submitting a discount forapproval. Other feed items show posts, for example, from Bill Bauer,made to the record and comments, for example, from Erica Law and JakeRapp, made on the posts.

III. Aggregating Web Clipping Data

FIG. 5 is an operational flow diagram illustrating a high level overviewof a technique for aggregating web clipping data in an embodiment.

In block 501, the processing system of the database system may receive arequest originating from a member of a web clipping services. A clip ofa web page may refer to a normalized representation of the content andstyle of a user selected portion of the web page. In an example, atleast a portion of a web page may be input into a clip extractor. Theclip extractor may output clip data, e.g. Document Object Model (DOM)elements, corresponding to a user selection from the web page.

In block 502, the processing system may insert first data associatedwith a clip selection of the request into a personalized online space,e.g. a board, corresponding to the member. In an example, the first datacomprises the clip data output from the clip extractor.

In block 503, the processing system may retain second data that isdifferent than the first data into an aggregated pool of data associatedwith members of the web clipping service. The aggregated pool of datamay include a first database entry, e.g. a first record, that isdifferent than a second database entry for the personalized onlinespace, e.g. a second record. The records may be stored in the same ordifferent databases.

In an example, the second data includes metadata and at least a portionof the payload, e.g. the clip data. In an example, the metadata includesa property of the browsing session in which the selection was performed.The browsing session property may include an indication of the browserused for the clipping, an operating system of the user system, a screenresolution of the user system, an IP address of the user system, or thelike, or combinations thereof.

In an example, the metadata includes a reference to a web domaincorresponding to the selection. In an example, the metadata specifies asection of sections of a web domain.

In an example, the metadata includes information about the clip, e.g. ageometry of the clip (e.g. a shape of the clip), a dimension of theclip, a set of coordinates indicating a position of the clip relative tothe web page from which the clip was taken, or the like, or combinationsthereof.

In an example, the metadata includes a thumbnail of the clip. In anexample, the metadata includes an attribute of the style of the clip,e.g. an average color of the clip. In an example, the metadata includesan indication of when the clip was performed or on which version of aweb page the clip was performed, e.g. a time stamp.

In block 504, the processing system may pair an advertisement with aresource based on an analysis of the aggregated pool of data. Thepairing may be in response to a user selection from a filtered or rankedlist of resources or advertisements. In block 505, the processing systemmay store an association between the advertisement and the resource ofthe pair in a memory device.

FIG. 6 is an operational flow diagram illustrating a high level overviewof a technique for analyzing aggregated web clipping data in anembodiment.

In block 601, the processing system may receive a selection of acriterion for analysis of the aggregated pool of data. In an example,the criterion may include most clipped. In an example, a criterion mayinclude all clips that derive from a selected URL. In an example, acriterion may include all clips that derive from users of a selectedgeography. In an example, a criterion may include all clips that arelarger or smaller than a predetermined size. In an example, thepredetermined size may be a size in pixel count of a dimension. In anexample, the predetermined size may be a size in bits of the clippeddata.

In block 602, the processing system may filter and/or rank trackedobjects of the aggregated pool of data, e.g. filter and/or rankresources, advertisements, and/or domain sections (e.g. web pages or webpage portions), or the like, or combinations thereof. In block 603, theprocessing system may cause a user system remote from the databasesystem to display a filtered/ranked object list and/or may store thefiltered/ranked object list in a memory device.

In an example, the processing system may be configured to generate morethan one list. A first filtered/ranked object list may be compared to asecond filtered/ranked object list that is different than the firstfiltered/ranked object list. In an example, all clips from a selecteddomain may be compared to its complement, i.e. all clips not from theselected domain. The comparison may indicate what other clip propertiesstrongly differentiate clips from within the first filtered/rankedobject list from those that are not in the filtered/ranked object list.

In an example, a first filtered/ranked object list may befiltered/ranked again more than once to create at least a secondfiltered/ranked object list and a third filtered/ranked object list. Forexample, a domain, such as a news site, may be segmented by its primarytopical sections (World, US, Business, Technology, Science, Health,Sports, etc.) The second and third filtered/ranked object lists may becompared.

In an example, the processing system may be configured to generate morethan one list, e.g. a first list based on a first criterion and a secondlist based on a second criterion (the second criterion may be acomplement of the first criterion, in an example). The processing systemmay be configured to identify a property that is highly correlated withone of the lists, but negatively correlated with the other(s). In anexample, an information theoretic metric such as information gain may beused to identify the first order properties of a list that distinguishthe list from the other(s). In an example, the processing system mayidentify a list that is more highly coincident with certain types ofusers, certain types of actions, certain types of topics, or the like,or combinations thereof.

The processing system may be configured to display results of generatingmore than one list using a heat map. In an example, dark blue may beused to indicate little clipping activity, red to indicate the greatestclipping activity, and the color spectrum in between to indicateintermediate values. In an example, the heat may visually present whatsections of a news site are most frequently clipped, what portions ofthe sections of the news site are the most frequently clipped, and howclipping engagement differs between the sections or the sites.

A filtered/ranked list may be compared to a different list that is basedon page impressions or click through to identify what sites or pageshave high or low clipping activity despite having low or high pageimpressions. Identifying where two metrics, e.g. a first metricassociated with passive activity such as viewing and a second metricassociated with more than viewing (i.e. clipping), deviate from oneanother may be used to identify sites with inventory that is underpricedor overpriced.

A resource may be paired with an advertisement based on a result of theanalysis. In an example, an advertisement for a flower delivery websitemay be paired with a resource, e.g. a domain or video, that is highlyclipped by a targeted demographic, e.g. males over the age of 30. Thepairing may be based on the analysis of the aggregated pool of data, butmay be based on other factors as well. For instance, the flower deliveryadvertisement may be paired with the resource depending on date (theadvertisement may be paired with the resource that is highly clipped bythe target demographic in a time range corresponding to a particularholiday such as Mother's day or Valentine's Day).

Other applications of the above described analyses besides advertisementpairing are possible. For example, an advertiser may select anadvertising format from advertising formats based on an analysis. In anexample, the advertiser may select the advertising format associatedwith the most clipped objects.

FIG. 7 is an operational flow diagram illustrating a high level overviewof a technique for aggregating web clipping data in an embodiment inanother embodiment.

In block 701, a processing system may assign a unique token to eachmember of a web clipping service. In block 702, the processing systemmay receive a request originating from a member of the web clippingservice. In block 703, the processing system may associate the receivedrequest with one of the unique tokens.

In diamond 704, the processing system may determine whether to insertfirst data associated with a clip selection of the request into anon-public portion of a personalized online space corresponding to themember. In an example, a clipping service may default to private forclips added to a member's board, but a member may override the defaultby selecting public for a particular clip.

In response to determining that the first data is to be inserted intothe non-public portion of the personalized online space in diamond 704,in block 705 the processing system may retain second data that isdifferent than the first data into an aggregated pool of data associatedwith members of the web clipping service. The second data may includethe corresponding unique token.

In response to determining that the first data is not to be insertedinto the non-public portion of the personalized online space (e.g. is tobe inserted into a public portion) in diamond 704, in block 706, theprocessing system may retain third data that is different than thesecond data in the aggregated pool of data associated with members ofthe web clipping service. In an example, the third data includes aweighting that is different, e.g. less than, a weighting included in thesecond data.

The system and apparatus described above may use dedicated processorsystems, micro controllers, programmable logic devices, microprocessors,or any combination thereof, to perform some or all of the operationsdescribed herein. Some of the operations described above may beimplemented in software and other operations may be implemented inhardware. Any of the operations, processes, and/or methods describedherein may be performed by an apparatus, a device, and/or a systemsubstantially similar to those as described herein and with reference tothe illustrated figures.

The processing system may execute instructions or “code” stored inmemory. The memory may store data as well. The processing system mayinclude, but may not be limited to, an analog processor, a digitalprocessor, a microprocessor, a multi-core processor, a processor array,a network processor, or the like. The processing system may be part ofan integrated control system or system manager, or may be provided as aportable electronic device configured to interface with a networkedsystem either locally or remotely via wireless transmission.

The processor memory may be integrated together with the processingsystem, for example RAM or FLASH memory disposed within an integratedcircuit microprocessor or the like. In other examples, the memory maycomprise an independent device, such as an external disk drive, astorage array, a portable FLASH key fob, or the like. The memory andprocessing system may be operatively coupled together, or incommunication with each other, for example by an I/O port, a networkconnection, or the like, and the processing system may read a filestored on the memory. Associated memory may be “read only” by design(ROM) by virtue of permission settings, or not. Other examples of memorymay include, but may not be limited to, WORM, EPROM, EEPROM, FLASH, orthe like, which may be implemented in solid state semiconductor devices.Other memories may comprise moving parts, such as a known rotating diskdrive. All such memories may be “machine-readable” and may be readableby a processing system.

Operating instructions or commands may be implemented or embodied intangible forms of stored computer software (also known as “computerprogram” or “code”). Programs, or code, may be stored in a digitalmemory and may be read by the processing system. “Computer-readablestorage medium” (or alternatively, “machine-readable storage medium”)may include all of the foregoing types of memory, as well as newtechnologies of the future, as long as the memory may be capable ofstoring digital information in the nature of a computer program or otherdata, at least temporarily, and as long as the stored information may be“read” by an appropriate processing system. The term “computer-readable”may not be limited to the historical usage of “computer” to imply acomplete mainframe, mini-computer, desktop or even laptop computer.Rather, “computer-readable” may comprise storage medium that may bereadable by a processor, a processing system, or any computing system.Such media may be any available media that may be locally and/orremotely accessible by a computer or a processor, and may includevolatile and non-volatile media, and removable and non-removable media,or any combination thereof.

A program stored in a computer-readable storage medium may comprise acomputer program product. For example, a storage medium may be used as aconvenient means to store or transport a computer program. For the sakeof convenience, the operations may be described as variousinterconnected or coupled functional blocks or diagrams. However, theremay be cases where these functional blocks or diagrams may beequivalently aggregated into a single logic device, program or operationwith unclear boundaries.

While one or more implementations have been described by way of exampleand in terms of the specific embodiments, it is to be understood thatone or more implementations are not limited to the disclosedembodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover variousmodifications and similar arrangements as would be apparent to thoseskilled in the art. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims shouldbe accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all suchmodifications and similar arrangements.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A database system coupled to a plurality of user systems over one or more networks, the database system comprising: a memory device having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a processing system of the database system, cause the database system to perform operations comprising: obtaining one or more clip requests originating from the plurality of user systems, the one or more clip requests associated with one or more members of a web clipping service, respectively, each of the clip request(s) including first clip data for retention in a personalized online space for the corresponding member; retaining, into an aggregated pool of data associated with the one or more members, second data indicative of an action performed by the corresponding member to generate the corresponding clip request, wherein the second data includes correlation value(s) to identify which one of one or more web pages each corresponding clip selection was taken from; using content of the aggregated pool of data, including the correlation value(s), generating one or more metrics to model user engagement with the one or more web pages, respectively; filtering or ranking the one or more web pages based on the metrics.
 2. The database system of claim 1, wherein the one or more metrics comprise one or more first metrics, and wherein the operations further comprise: obtaining one or more second metrics to model user engagement with the one or more web pages, respectively, the one or more second metrics based on one or more sets of page impression data for the one or more web pages, respectively, and/or one or more sets of click through rate data for the one or more web pages, respectively; identifying any first web page(s) of the one or more web pages in which one of the first one or more metrics and the one or more second metrics is indicative of one of high threshold user's level of interest or low threshold users' level of interest and the other of the one or more first metrics and the one or more second metrics is indicative of the other of high threshold user's level of interest or low threshold user' level of interest; identifying any second web page(s) of the one or more web pages in which both of the one or more first metrics and the one or more second metrics are indicative of high threshold users' level of interest or low threshold users' level of interest; in response to identifying first or second web page(s), outputting display data to a person about the identified web page(s), wherein the display data comprises a heat map in which any first web page(s) are displayed using a first color, any second web page(s) are displayed using a second different color, and remaining web pages of the one or more web pages are displayed using one or more third colors.
 3. The database system of claim 1, wherein the first clip data comprises a normalized representation of the content and style of a user selected portion of one of the web page(s) from which the clip section was taken, and wherein the second data includes one or more additional values indicative of a position of the corresponding clip selection on the corresponding web page.
 4. The database system of claim 1, wherein the second data comprises one or more additional values specifying at least one of a property of the browsing session in which the corresponding clip selection was performed, an identity of a browser of the corresponding browsing session, an identity of an operating system of the corresponding browsing session, a screen resolution associated with a corresponding one of the user systems of the corresponding browsing session, or an IP address of the corresponding user system.
 5. The database system of claim 4, wherein the one or more additional values specify at least one of a geometry of the corresponding clip selection, a dimension of the corresponding clip selection, or coordinates indicating a position of the clip selection on the corresponding web page.
 6. The database system of claim 1, wherein the second data comprises one or more additional values specifying a size in bits or pixels of the corresponding clip selection.
 7. The database system of claim 1, wherein the second data comprises one or more additional values indicative of a position of the corresponding clip selection on the corresponding web page.
 8. The database system of claim 1, wherein the second data comprises a thumbnail image of the corresponding clip selection and a timestamp of the corresponding clip section.
 9. The database system of claim 1, wherein the second data comprises one or more additional values specifying at least an average color of the corresponding clip selection.
 10. The database system of claim 1, wherein the second data comprises one or more additional values specifying a property of a browsing session in which the corresponding clip selection was performed. 